We Are All Right

The other day I butted into a conversation between some women at the gym who were talking about “Obamacare” as if it were a highly repugnant word.  I said nicely “You know, it’s actually called the Affordable Care Act and was originally a Republican proposal under Pres. G.W. Bush.”  Well, that did it.  I heard about how I didn’t know anything, and that Obama was causing everyone’s insurance to drop them because of the costs of the Act, and now it was going to cost everyone so much more money.  I said “Really?  I’ve been reading that the costs are actually going down.”  Again a tirade came at me, and I said “Wow, that’s too bad” and turned to leave. The main person in this conversation said “See, she won’t believe me – you just can’t talk to these people, they won’t change their minds.”  I replied “No, I can’t just believe you, I have to do my own research.” and as I drove away I found myself getting angry.

Was I angry because they believed differently than I do and were so adamant that there wasn’t any other way to look at things? Was it because I had butted into a conversation that I had no business butting into?  Or maybe she was right, I have my beliefs and I won’t change my mind either. 

Later that afternoon I was looking for something in a box of papers and came across this quote:

‎"We must love them both, those whose opinions we share and those whose opinions we reject. For both have labored in the search for truth, and both have helped us in the finding of it."  -Thomas Aquinas

OK, thanks God.  I realize the Truth of this quote and yes, I can love them.  I also realize we are both right. It is done unto us as we believe. Those women will experience what they believe, just as I will experience what I believe.  I’m so happy and grateful that I believe I live in a friendly universe, and so far it’s proved me right J

AFFIRMATIVE PRAYER

The I Am that I Am is fully present within me. I celebrate this awareness. I let the Truth of It flood my being. I feel the Power and the Love. I am aware of Infinite Intelligence and perfect Grace. Love blesses me as I choose to live in the present moment.

I let go of wanting people to believe the way I do.  I celebrate the One Life we are all living.  I choose wisely what I want to experience.  I choose love, peace, health, creativity, beauty and laughter. I acknowledge we all want the same. I gratefully stay in the present moment, honoring all that shows up as a reflection of the God consciousness within. God is good, and all is well in my life.

I release these words to the Law of Mind, knowing they are already so. And so it is.

Choices, Choices, Choices

I was reading an entry in an old journal about a spiritual revelation I had over 30 years ago.  I could hardly describe it then, and even when I’ve thought it since, I’ve had a hard time describing it.  However, while reading my entry, I realized the thing that affected me the most was the realization that I had CHOICE.  I could choose whatever I wanted to be, do, say, or love.  Never again would someone else’s choice for my life be more important than mine.

As soon as I realized this, I started hearing people talk about their experience.  A woman who is new to our Center explained why she cries during my messages.  No one had ever told her she could choose her reality, much less encouraged her to do so. 

I asked my new students “Out of all the churches available, what drew you to a Center for Spiritual Living?”  Each one had a different story, yet the stories were about realizing they could choose what they wanted.

At every moment we get to make little choices.  Sometimes we get to make big ones.  How do we know when we’re making the right ones? 

I believe there’s an infinite intelligence that is the Source and substance of all there is, including me and you.  This Intelligence is part of an unconditionally loving Energy that is absolutely everywhere.  All we have to do is choose to acknowledge It, place our intentions for our life into It, and know this Presence can be trusted to serve us well. 

In the revelation experience I had, I remember a feeling of wonder and awe come over me, and I made the biggest choice of my life.  I held out my hands and said “Use me God.”  In that moment I chose to trust I would be guided along my path, and it would always be for the highest and best of all.  Within a few weeks, I was embarked on the path to ministry (though I didn’t know it at the time – I thought I was just getting people together for brunch and to watch Terry Cole Whittaker on TV on Sunday mornings.)   30 plus years later, I have participated in conferences in most of the world’s power spots, started two Centers,  mentored new ministers, and my first book is in the process of published.  Everything has been a choice – a choice to live a Spirit led life and to serve humanity to the best of my ability. 

I also remember a time in my life when I chose the wrong thing and was guided back to my Path.  While studying for the ministry, I had applied for a job in an exclusive jewelry store.  I made it through two interviews, and then was told that even though I was highly qualified for the position, I didn’t have the job.  I was devastated, but reminded myself that Infinite Intelligence had my highest good in mind, and I had to trust.  A week or so later, I found another job that perfectly suited my studies .. my boss even let me do my homework in the office!  That certainly wouldn’t have happened in the jewelry store! 

Think back on your life, and realize all the choices you’ve made.  You are right where you are now because of those choices.  Where do you want to be next year or 10 years from now?  Choose now, declare your intentions into the Law of Mind, let the Universe do the work it loves to do and trust the process!

AFFIRMATIVE PRAYER

Infinite Intelligence is present everywhere in potential and in expression.  It is here for me to use consciously or unconsciously.  I choose to be conscious in my choices.

I choose to experience Life in the fullness that It offers.  In my heart of hearts, I know what I want to be, do and have.  I now state those desires as intentions for my life into the Law of Mind with love.  Love points the way, and Law makes the way possible.  I pay attention to the inspiration the Universe is constantly giving me as I walk the Path of my intentions.  I know, without doubts, fears or concerns, that I can trust Infinite Intelligence to guide me, nurture me and support me as I become all I want to be. 

How grateful I am to know I am making wise choices, not only for myself, but for all humanity.   I release these words, knowing they are already embodied deep within my subjective mind.  And so it is.

Atonement

The highest holy Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur, starts tonight.  It’s a day of fasting and atonement.  Though I am not Jewish, I like using the energies of various holy days personally.  I will fast, not necessarily from food, but from all negative thinking to the best of my ability.

To me, atonement is defined as “making amends for a wrong or injury.”  How would I make amends? Here’s a little process I’ve developed for myself:

1^st:  I will take an honest inventory.  Who have I hurt?  Did I put myself on that list? 

2^nd: I will consciously let go of whatever emotional hurts I am holding onto.

3^rd: I will release myself and other people to their highest good. I will no longer belittle or judge myself, or think I am unworthy. I will now give all of us safe passage through my mind.

4^th:  I will never tell the ‘story’ again.

As I make amends with the God in All, I move into a place of At-One-Ment, recognizing nothing can separate us, because the Divine is within all of us. It is as if I am setting my world back in balance.

Whether Yom Kippur is your high holy day or not, fasting and atonement is always a good practice!

AFFIRMATIVE PRAYER

I honor the powerful presence of Love within me, knowing that God is Love – an unconditional Love that never holds anything against me or anyone else.  Love is the greatest healing agent in the universe and Love is everywhere present.

I now let go and surrender the stories of hurt, frustration and anger to this Great Love.  I let go of the stories of fear to this Great Love.  I am now empty, and in this emptiness, I am made new. In my newness, I declare I am ready and willing to be of greater service than ever before. 

I celebrate God in everyone I come in contact with from this point on. 

How grateful I am to be able to let go and let God in me, as me, and through me, do this work  I now release these words to the Law of Love, knowing they are already so.  And so it is.

How Wonderful It Is To Be Open

I attended an art show called “Magnitude” and a lecture by Jennet Inglis yesterday.  She said quite a few things in her lecture on “Art, Science and Spirit in the 21^st Century: Curiosity, Collaboration, and Compass” that touched me in ways I can’t quite articulate.  It made me think, got me excited, and I feel more opened up.

I got a glimpse into a world of light and color and sound and the mathematics of it all.  How everything fits together so harmoniously even where or when it seems like it shouldn’t.

At one point Jennet said something about our heartbeat being our first clock … establishing us in time.  I remembered a Sunday in Vancouver, BC, where a drummer had joined us and brought lots of drums.  During my talk I asked him to play the first drum ever heard by all of us –  our heartbeat. As I remembered I realized it does establish us in time – we come from the timeless into this dimension when we’re born, and go into the timeless when we die.

A moment later Jennet asked “Is there a holographic heart of humanity?  Where is it?”   My mind jumped into thinking about living in a holographic universe.  That everything is projected from our minds outward as if on a giant blue screen and becomes the reality we live in. We believe in what we’ve projected, therefore we experience it as solid and real.  Jennet’s question made me ask myself “Is this why we’re collectively experiencing so much chaos?  The beliefs we’ve held on to for so long are crashing down and the Global Heart is shining through.  Where is it? It’s inside us – we’re being broken open to let out the Light!

During the Q & A after the lecture someone asked her about color, and she pointed to the back of the theater and told us the colors she saw.  I looked and saw the walls and the rows of seats, but as I listened to her description, suddenly I saw the blocks of color and shading she was describing, and the picture became so much more alive!

That reminded me of taking an art class in Hawai’i and learning about different brushes and the techniques used with them … and then for weeks I’d be driving along looking at things thinking “Oh, I could use a fan brush there!”

Jennet’s PowerPoint presentation ended with a quote by Democritus of Abdera – 430 BC:  “Nothing exists except atoms and space, everything else is opinion.”   I laughed, yet how true this is.  My world is a projection of my opinions and how wonderful it was to be open anothers opinion of art, science and Spirit. What if we were to approach all of life this way .. listening, learning, no preconceived opinions?   How rich, alive and peaceful our world would be.

AFFIRMATIVE PRAYER

We live in an infinite field of creative potentiality.  We live and move and have our being in this Field, and It lives and moves and has Its being in us.   It is absolutely all there is.

I recognize that the mechanics of this Field are Love and Law.  Love points the way and Law makes the way possible.  Knowing this I now declare I am more open to the possibilities than I have ever been before.  I am judgment free.  My opinions are those of a much higher, more involved mind, the One Mind, the Mind of God.  My life is so much more vibrant, so much more alive that it was just a few minutes ago.  I live with full abandonment of my old, limiting beliefs, and this is good, very good. 

 Gratefully I celebrate knowing there is so much more to learn, more to live.  I am excited about the adventure.  I release these words into the Law of Mind, knowing they are so, and so it is.

I Live in a Universe That Works!

Lately I’ve been hearing people talk about what isn’t working.  Sitting in Starbucks the other day I could hear conversations about the government, relationships, work, medications, finances – you name it, nothing was working!

I asked a group of people “Do you want to change what’s not working?  Let’s reframe this conversation – let’s talk about what is working and be grateful that it is.”  One person told me to “get real” and another told me they agreed with me, but it was good to express what wasn’t working.  I thought to myself "Express yes - dwell on it, no."

I know that when I keep observing a certain thing, it’s because I need to hear it and I got to experience “not working” with my internet and phone service.  It was more off than on for almost a week. I was getting frustrated, especially when a tech came and fixed it and four hours later, I had the same problem only worse.

I realized sometimes I don’t want to accept what is – I just want to move on as if it wasn’t.  Yet that doesn’t work.  I just focus more on the problem. Then I remembered a quote from Ernest Holmes that I have in my journal. I don’t remember where I got it from but here it is:  “Every problem contains its own answer if you think of the problem as a question, and inquiry, and not as an obstruction.  Thinking of it this way, keep your mind not on the repetition of thoughts about the problem, but on the receipt of a definite answer.” 

Those things we’re thinking don’t work?  We’re thinking of them as if they are entities, things of themselves that have power. We dwell on them, giving them free rent in our minds.  That creates the obstruction. Problems don’t have any power except for what we’ve given them.

I decided to just ‘be’ with little or no internet or phone service, not to let it frustrate me.  It was what was, and I knew it would change soon enough. I spent time being grateful for the ways internet and phones serve me, for having other devices to be able to stay connected, and that my circle of friends was much larger because of technology.  Now I’m connected fully again, with a benefit – my service is much faster than before and there is a lot less wire pooling on the floor under the modem!    

My theme for this week is to stop thinking about what isn’t working, look at what is, and be grateful for it!    Join me?

AFFIRMATIVE PRAYER

Gratefully I acknowledge that at the very center of everything – every cell and atom that makes up everything – is a Divine Energy that is both Love and Law.  It is responsive and exacting.  From deep within me It responds to my thoughts and feelings.

Knowing this I pay attention.  I make my conversation, whether with others or myself, be one of an awareness that I make a difference in this world.  I let go of complaints, and make my choices consciously. I live in a universe that always works and can be trusted.

I am so grateful for everything I’ve ever had, I have now, and will have in my future.  There is only One Life, that Life is God’s and this is the Life I am living now.  It is good, very good.

I release these words into the Law of Mind, knowing they are so, and so it is.